


Prince hours

by Hyungwonisbae



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: A lot of tea drinking is involved, Alternate universe - Princess Hours, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bad Parenting, Bethrothed from birth, Can yall tell i cant use punctuations well, I Will Go Down With This Ship, It's beneficial to the plot, Just saying that now, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Mpreg im sorry, Slow To Update, Youre gonna be dissapointed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2019-11-17 19:13:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18104690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hyungwonisbae/pseuds/Hyungwonisbae
Summary: So why?” Haechan asks again.“I don’t want to leave Jennie all cooped up in the Palace, But if it’s you, I don’t mind” Mark answered, leaving Haechan speechless. He scoffed, of course, it's to his benefit and not anything else.“Why did You accept?” Mark asked him in return, and Haechan had to ponder a bit, why did he accept?“I guess I no longer want to be my parents' pawn” Haechan answers honestly and for a second he thinks he sees Mark frown. Thinks.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Have you watched goong or princess hour?  
> This is based on the series, but some of the main ideas are different from the orginal. I hope you'll like it.  
> I might update irregularly because its exam season for me but pls  
> Enjoy!!

Inhwa, Year 14, King Hyun’s illness worsens.

 

“We have to do something about this problem, the King is not getting any better” The Queen Dowager says, concern painting every crevice of her face. Lately, the public have been noticing the ever-present bags under the king’s eyes, and word has been going about if this will be the end of Monarch rule in South Korea.

“Your Highness” the Queen starts, “What do you suggest we do, as of now we only have two heirs to the throne and the oldest can’t succeed it if he doesn’t have a wife” she moves to sit on the edge of her seat and lowers her voice, “Should we…”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Haechan doesn’t know why South Korea can’t get the memo. It’s like SK is still stuck in medieval times. Most of his anger stems from the fact that he goes to the same high school as the crown prince. He knows he is not rich and is lucky to go to a prestigious high school on a full scholarship, but honestly, if not for his parents he’d rather just go to any public school in his neighbourhood.

His first goal today, however, is to get to class without anybody coming up to him for his daily dose of bullying.

His mission is somewhat successful, till he halts immediately outside a classroom, overhearing the most absurd thing he’s ever heard.

“Will you marry me?” 

The fuck.

He knows that voice like he knows he has some fresh tea. That was most definitely the Crown prince, Mark Lee.

Now he is most definitely eavesdropping, first period be damned. 

“No, what, Mark, are you alright?” 

And now, Haechan is even more confused and intrigued. The other voice was none other than Jennie Kim, Daughter of Hyorin Kim world-renowned fashion designer. 

“Yes, I’m really serious about this, if you don’t give me an answer, I might have to marry someone I don’t know”

“Mark, you know I can’t. I can’t give up my dreams to be cooped up in a small room for the rest of my life. We aren’t meant for each other”

“But…”

Why on earth would Mark ask Jennie to marry him, they are only teenagers. Haechan rolled his eyes, not wanting to listen to any more of their rubbish. He walked to the front office, to get a late pass, then proceeded to his first period, Mr. Yoon was his favourite anyways, so he knew his being late was not going to be counted against him.

 

~~~~~~

 

Lunch time was Haechan’s favourite. First, since all his classmates were “rich ass bitches” Jaemin’s words not his, they all went off campus for lunch so the cafeteria was almost deserted. Secondly and his favourite, the food here was the best, so he had no reason to go off campus when Gordon Ramsey himself would quake at the thought of their lunch.

He met up with Renjun and Jaemin for lunch, his only friends in the school. Although he vowed never to be friends with any of his stuck up, stick up their ass classmates, Renjun and Jaemin were literally the only exceptions, as they both share his sentiments towards their other classmates.

“What’s for lunch today” Jaemin asks as he drops his bag on the ground. He sits close to Renjun and lands a quick peck on Renjun’s lips, whispering a small, “hey babe” into Renjun’s ear that makes him blush. Haechan rolls his eyes and fake retches at their antics.

“Rice and your choice of sides, along with some French pastry I can’t pronounce” Haechan replies. 

He loves his best friends, he really does, but sometimes being around them is a threat to the food in his stomach. Jaemin and Renjun have been dating for as long as he can remember. He’s pretty sure they are going to get married as soon as they graduate.

Jaemin stands to go get his lunch and Renjun straightens up. Haechan decides to check his phone till he spills the tea he gained this morning to his friends and ends up almost having an aneurysm at the breaking news. 

“No fucking way” he exclaims, which gets the attention of Renjun who has been oddly quiet this whole time. 

“What?” Renjuns asks Haechan, the latter still being shocked. “Have you seen the news yet?” he asks Renjun who shakes his head, Haechan gave Renjun his phone, words failing him at explaining what he just read.

He suddenly understands what Mark meant by, “I might have to marry someone I don’t know”. Being royal must be hard. He hears a squeak from Renjun who must have read the news. 

“I know right?” Haechan comments, Jaemin set his tray down and looks confused, Renjun hands him Haechan’s phone silently. When Jaemin finishes reading the news he snickers and hands Haechan back his phone. 

“I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, the royal palace has been devoid of children for a while, and there is only one heir. I wonder who he is going to marry though?” Jaemin shares his thoughts as he eats a chicken leg.

“I saw Mark propose to Jennie this Morning” Haechan blurts out. “She turned him down though”

Renjun finally speaks, “That’s what has been bothering me, she is in my Calculus class and was telling her little posse of how she might be royal soon”

Haechan furrows his eyebrows, “but she denied Mark, maybe she said yes after I left?”

“But that’s the thing when people asked her if she was dating Mark, she said no and that her friends were going to find out soon” Renjun shook his head, “if Mark is going to marry soon I suppose there is something going on in the Palace that we don’t know”

The conversation stemmed to other places after that, but Haechan couldn’t ward off the feeling that something bad was going to happen soon.

 

~~~~~

 

After school Haechan walked home and tried to clear his head of the things he had learnt today. The schools had turned upside down after everyone heard of the royal marriage, there had been so many news anchors trying to get the exclusive from Mark himself so his school had been surrounded.

He was home when he realised they had guests. There were men in black in his front porch and they looked at him weirdly as he entered his home. “Mom, dad, I’m home!” he shouted once he got in. 

“I don’t know if you guys knew but there are weird men in fro…” he wasn’t able to finish his sentence because as he turned to remove his shoes he saw an elderly woman in one of those really expensive hanboks sitting on his worn down couch.  
He gave her a small bow and as he looked around his living room he saw his parents, a young boy he had never seen before and Mark.

Mark!?

What on earth was Mark Lee doing in his house!?

His mom took him by the arm and dragged him to his room. “Mom what the f-” his mom gave him a look, “what are those people doing in our house, and if that the royal family!?”

His mom sighed and sat on his bed. 

“Donghyuck” Now he knew his mom was serious, she never called him his full name unless it was serious.

“You know how I and your Dad often make fun of your grandfather’s will” he nodded, it was the running joke of his family, the will mentioned something along the lines of Haechan’s hand in Marri… the fuck.

He widened his eyes as he knew where his mom was going with this. The bad feeling coming back up to his throat. 

“This is a joke right?” he couldn’t and wouldn’t believe what his mom was implying. His grandfather's will said that Haechan would have to marry the Crown Prince or Princess when the time comes, and they all thought it was a joke, because who would believe an ordinary family having connections with the royal family.

“Honey, this is not a joke, her royal HIghness the Queen Dowager, came her herself to ask for your hand. We were only waiting for you to come home and hear this yourself” Haechan closed his eyes and tried calming his erratic heartbeat.

“Do I have a choice?” he asked his mom and was relieved when she nodded.

“Oh, then no.” 

His mother held both his hands and he didn’t like where this was going.

“Donghyuck, you know, since your father’s company went bankrupt, we’ve been looking for every possible way to get back on our feet, we were thinking this might be our only chance to get everything back” his mother pleaded with him, “if you just give us this opportunity-” 

Haechan removed his hands from his mother’s grasp, “you want me to give up my life and dreams to benefit you and dad?”

“I know its a lot-”

“You don’t know crap about it being a lot, I’ve sacrificed almost everything for you and dad, and you want to give my life away just like that, for what? The money? NO!”

“Hyuckie, look here” HIs mom stood up and held his shoulders, “I know about your sacrifices but this this last time, ok?” she wiped away his tears and gave him a look that he couldn’t believe was his mother’s.

“Fine!, If I die, you wouldn’t care as long as it benefitted you” he said and rushed out to the bathroom. He wiped away his tears and looked at himself in the mirror. He let out a laugh that pretty much summed up his life right now. Pathetic. 

He washed his hands and wiped them on a towel, leaving his last print in his home, scratch that, house.

He came out of the bathroom with the fakest smile he could possibly put on and walked to the living room.

“We are so pleased with your agreement, Haechan and we are most happy to welcome you into our family” the Queen Dowager said as he sat down beside his parents. 

“We would have the wedding as soon as possible because the king isn't getting any better and we need our heir to be ready to take the throne. Thank you once again” she smiled at Haechan and Haechan felt so bad for her.

She stood up and left with the assistance of the young boy, whose identity was still unclear. 

Mark cleared his throat to get Haechan’s attention, in which he succeeds. 

“Can I speak with you, in private” Haechan scoffs at the request that seems more like a command, but he does it anyway because he’s genuinely curious. He takes Mark to his room, to which he immediately regrets because his room is basically a SHINee shrine. He sits on his bed as Mark stands awkwardly in front of his closet.

“I overheard you proposing to Jennie” he blurts out for the second time that day, “why did you say yes?” he finally asks the question that has been plaguing his mind for a couple of seconds now.

Mark smirks at him, “so you were there, I knew someone was there, and it just so happened to be you” he laughs, “of all people” 

Haechan agrees its a little comical, and he thought he had tea, turns out he does have tea, alright, just on himself.

“So why?” Haechan asks again.

“I don’t want to leave Jennie all cooped up in the Palace, But if it’s you, I don’t mind” Mark answered, leaving Haechan speechless. He scoffed, of course, it's to his benefit and not anything else. 

“Why did You accept?” Mark asked him in return, and Haechan had to ponder a bit, why did he accept? 

“I guess I no longer want to be my parents' pawn” Haechan answers honestly and for a second he thinks he sees Mark frown. Thinks.

“Well anyway, you’re now my fiance and future Queen(?), so act like it and don’t disgrace the royal family. By now articles exposing your face and name should be out and you should be prepared for that. You are going to move into the Palace on Saturday” it was Thursday, “you are going to have to learn everything you can until the wedding in 2 weeks. Congrats” Mark finishes his monologue then pauses and looks at Haechan intently, and Haechan doesn’t know where this is going and he is kinda scared, then before he can process anything else Mark is kissing him then leaving his room.

Haechan had never realised how scared he is in his parents’ house, maybe it’s because of the fact that they use him or just because he is the only child or the fact that Mark freaking Lee just kissed him, but all he knows is that tonight he doesn’t want to be in here. So he calls Jaemin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I dont know how to summarise
> 
> Shit happens?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The SATs and ACTs can be put aside for now, i like writing this.  
> I probs should be on khan academy right now but
> 
> New update!!

The Queen Dowager and The Queen were having their daily dose of chamomile tea when the Queen suddenly remembers a vital factor to their monarchy’s future.

“Your Highness, we didn’t take into consideration if the royal fiance was a carrier or not, we can’t have them adopt, it is forbidden” the Queen says worryingly. The Queen Dowager thinks for a while while sipping the royal tea until she gets a wonderful idea that kills two birds with one stone.

“You know…” The Queen Dowager begins.

 

~~~~~~

 

Jaemin allowed Hyuck to settle down in his bed before asking any questions. He had probably seen the news and read multiple articles before Haechan’s arrival. Renjun was in the kitchen making hot chocolate.

“Do you mind not standing there like I’m going to explode anytime soon” Haechan started, looking pointedly at Jaemin standing in the doorway of his own room.

Jaemin looked sheepishly at Haechan and sat beside him, “I’m sorry, it’s just that everything happened so soon, and I’m shocked, so I couldn’t possibly think of how you're feeling now” he looked at Haechan pitifully and thought about how he would feel if he was in Haechan’s shoes. “Do you mind telling me what happened today?”

Renjun came into the room and handed Haechan a cup of hot chocolate.

“So” Haechan began, “I basically went home to my parents telling me that I was engaged and then this whole thing with the Queen Dowager happened and then mark wanted to talk to me and oh, by the way, he’s an asshole, then he kissed me and left the house and I felt like suffocating and that was when I called you” Haechan said in all one breath.

“He kissed you?!”

“The Queen Dowager was in your house?!”

Haechan would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t going through an existential crisis. “That was all you guys got?” he sighed and sipped his chocolate.

“Wait, hold up, let us take this from the beginning” Renjun started, “You are the royal fiance, how?”

“When my grandfather was in his prime, he had been the royal guard to the king, save your surprises to the end, apparently he had been very good friends with the king and had saved his life on more than one occasion, so before my grandfather died he got a reward from the king, saying that when the crown prince or Princess is of age or the kingdom is in a dire situation, he/she would have my hand in marriage, mind you, I just found out that all this was true 2 hours ago” when he was finished Jaemin nodded and Renjun seemed to be in a deep thought.

“So you're saying, you were betrothed before you were born?” Jaemin asked.

Haechan was getting frustrated at this point, he just wants to sleep.

“Yes, yes Jaemin that's what I said” 

“Ok, next, why did mark kiss you?” that one Haechan hadn’t thought about, more like avoided.

Haechan would never admit it, but that was his first kiss. He had lived all 17 years of his life being a lip virgin and now that he was not was driving him crazy. Even more, it all happened so quickly he wasn’t able to comprehend what was happening to him. Thinking about the soft lips pressed on his… ok moving on. 

“Earth to Haechan, earth to the cutest pudu in the world!” Jaemin said, more like screamed into haechan’s ear when he didn’t respond on time.

Haechan glared at Jaemin and received a smile from his friend. 

“I don’t know why he did it, now that I think about it, it doesn’t even feel real like I’m about to be married, but I’ve only talked to my fiance like once, arghh I'm gonna have an aneurysm” 

Haechan hated the pity looks on his friends' face and decided it was nighttime. It was 7 pm. He dropped his mug on the floor and made himself comfortable on Jaemin’s bed. “Goodnight”

He didn’t see it but the worried look on Jaemin and Renjun’s face turned sadder as he went to bed.

 

~~~~~~

 

He should have prepared, he should have fucking prepared for this. How was he going to survive a school filled with horny teenagers that want his head off his body?

Haechan had come to school extra early today.

But…

Haechan felt like the second he set foot into the school’s grounds, a fucking stampede of reporters rushed to his side asking him useless questions like ‘why did you hide your relationship with the prince?’ to ‘is he good in bed?’ that last question had him thinking though.

Moving on. 

He managed to get to class in one piece, but that didn’t stop his classmates from cornering him to the side for an interrogation. They were asking him questions like the reporters did, but mostly they were calling him names and were starting to get on his last nerve.

“Would Y'all just leave me alone and flock to your posses!, I’m getting tired of hearing the same stuff over again” he said as he pushed his way through the crowd that he didn’t know had formed and ran off to Mr. Yoon’s office. 

 

“Ha, Haechan, I was expecting you” Mr. Yoon said as he lowered his glasses and gestured for Haechan to enter the room. 

Mr. Yoon was the only teacher in his high school that he could trust and confide in. The man just had the right levels of everything and Haechan saw himself in him. He entered the classroom and sat on the front desk, the closest one to the teacher’s desk.

“I’m going to kms” he blurted out.

“Well, Mr. Lee, I was just about to tell you about what happened in the last episode of my Id is Gangnam beauty, but go off I guess” Mr. Yoon laughed and then turned serious once Haechan groaned.

“In all seriousness, are you ok? I saw the news and got worried”

“I’m not ok, I feel like my life is crumbling down at this point” Haechan put his head on the desk, willing the oncoming tears in his eyes away. He won’t cry when he isn’t injured.

“It going to be ok, what did your parent say about this”

“My Parents” Haechan laughed, “my parents made me do this”

Mr Yoon wasn't satisfied with that answer. “Mr. Lee, is there something else bothering you? You’ve always complained about your parents forcing you to things but you've never cried because of it, what’s actually going on with you?”

Haechan sighed out loud, the thought and tears coming out without his control.

“For once, I wanted them to be on my side” he broke down. He doesn't know what overcame him, but the idea that even his own fucking parents could not back him up or follow his decision had been on his mind this whole time.

“I've always done what they wanted, can’t they just let me be a normal teenager instead of a puppet” he wiped the tears away from his eyes. He said he wasn’t going to cry.

Mr. Yoon smiled sadly at him, “You know if you ever need new parents, Jisoo has been wanting a child for a while now” he joked smiling when he saw a little smile peak from Haechan’s lips.

“Tell him to bring the adoption papers and I’m all in” Haechan chuckled but actually meant his statement. He wouldn’t mind being a Yoon, then he wouldn’t have to marry Mark and he would have parents that actually care. Was he dreaming too hard?

The conversation stemmed off to how they both love Cha Eun Woo in the drama they started together and Haechan almost used Mr. Yoon’s glasses to poke his eyes out when he found out Mr. Yoon watched ahead. (“Jisoo wanted to!”)

They weren’t able to continue their conversation because they were interrupted by an abrupt cough.

When they looked up it was, lo and behold, Mark his highness, Lee.

“Your Highness, nice of you to join us this fine morning” 

Mark ignored the teacher. “We need to check something out, excuse us” was all Mark said before he dragged Haechan out of the room.

What was it with people and dragging Haechan around all the time, “Hey! I can walk on my own, leave. Me. alone.” he said as he successfully pulled his hand away from Mark’s grasp. 

“Don’t just drag me like that, I’m not an object” he said as he glared at Mark.

Mark rolled his eyes, “we don’t have time for this, we need to meet the Royal physician to check something out, Queen’s orders, not mine, so. let’s. go” Mark said as he pointed to the door that was gathering with students now.

Haechan said nothing and walked out after Mark, they walked to the car parked outside the school. It had emblems of the royal family on it and Haechan was still coming to terms that this was his life now.

As they walked out of the building they didn’t notice the figure that was watching them closely.

 

 

“He seems cute”

~~~~~

 

Haechan couldn’t hide the fact that he was awed. Sure, he hated the fact that he literally had to be forced here, but the pictures definitely don’t do the Palace justice. There were beautiful historical building everywhere with really gorgeous flowers in front of all the buildings. The building Mark is taking him into now has a statue of a white dove in front of it, and Haechan guesses that makes sense since upon entering it was a very modernized hospital lookalike.

When they entered, three people, who Haechan presumed to be maids, rushed to their front and did a little bow-y thing.

“Take the royal fiance to the royal physician’s office” Mark ordered and Haechan swears he had never heard Mark’s voice go that deep. 

The three girls lead him towards an office deep into the building and did that bow-y thing again when they knocked for him and left.

A young man came out of the door and smiled towards him. The man brought his hand out in a shake, “I’m Taeyong, and I’m going to be your physician today. I’m sorry I have to be the one checking you up, but the physician couldn’t make it in today.” 

Haechan took his hand and shook it, “Nice to meet you, I’m Haechan”

Taeyong nodded and lead him to seat and he looked over some files. 

“So, haechan do you know why you’re here?” he asked

“No, I was just told this was some type of checkup”

“Well, I’m not exactly supposed to tell you, but this is something you should know and consent to” Taeyong sighed as he continued, “I don’t know if you knew this and I will be surprised if you did, but every male royal consort must be a carrier. This is so that the royal blood stays in the family through generations. And today you will be going through a test that tells us if you're fit to be the royal consort or not, so do you consent to this or not?”

Haechan wasn’t surprised, to be honest, he had known all the past male consorts were carriers through AP Korean history, but he didn’t know it was a necessity. He didn’t know if he wanted the test to be positive or not, if it was positive he would have to be stuck in the palace his whole life but if it was negative he would have to stay with his parent who would, undoubtedly, continue to use him as a pawn in their lives.

He was basically forced to choose between worse or worse and in his opinion, the less worse was, “I’ll do it”

Taeyong smiled at him, “as you wish”

~~~~~~

The wait was as excruciating as the test itself, he was sitting back at the front entrance where Mark dropped him off and Mark, who was beside him, also looked anxious. Haechan couldn’t read Mark’s face if it said he wanted the test to be positive or not, he guesses Mark benefits the most if it was negative because then he wouldn’t have to marry someone he doesn’t want to. 

Taeyong finally comes out of the lab and both Mark and Haechan stand up to hear the news, “I don’t know what result you both want me to say, but, the result is the result and you can’t change it, Haechan is...a carrier” 

~~~~~

After the result was revealed both Haechan and Mark had to go say their greetings to the royal elders and they were both silent throughout the whole journey.

Haechan, although still surprised by the fact that he could carry his children, was not sure if he should be happy or not about that fact in context to his current situation.

He really wanted someone to talk to right now, but the closest human figure to him right now was Mark, so he tries.

“What do you think about the result?” he asks breaking the silence. He’s literally walking on thin ice now. (It snowed the day before).

“I can impregnate you” Mark says with a smirk on his face that Haechan just wants to slap off.

“Nevermind” Haechan sighed he just really wanted someone to comfort him, he shakes his head, he doesn’t need anyone but himself to support himself.

He remains quiet for the rest of the walk.

~~~~~

The Queen Dowager smiles widely as Taeyong gives her the report of his reproductive capabilities, he feels really exposed with everyone talking about his abilities right in front of him so he just smiles the awkwardness away.

“Since tomorrow is Saturday, I can’t wait till you join us in the Palace, I can’t help but feel like you’re the missing gem the palace needs.” she holds both his hands as she shares her thoughts, and all Haechan can do is smile through it all.

The door opens unexpectedly and a boy who looks to be his age walks through the doors with a smile that could rival Jaemins. 

Mark looks at the newcomers and smiles widely, genuinely smiles, wow, where was this Mark this whole time. 

 

 

 

“Jeno!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I still don't know shit about summarizing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took 2 full SAT practice tests in a week. That's 8 hours of sitting down answering questions.  
> Help.  
> Im sorry for updating so late and I don't know when next I will update.  
> This chapter is trash, why do you read me?  
> Not beta'ed but when is it ever.  
> Enjoy?

The Queen Dowager sighs as Jungwoo, the Royal educator, gives her the report of the training Haechan is going through.

The Queen signs in frustration and briefly wonders if they made the right choice in picking Haechan.

“You’ll just have to impose the importance of the training more on him” the Queens tells Jungwoo as he bows to the Queens and leaves the room.

The queen Dowager sighs and picks up her hot cup of tea.

 

~~~~~~~~~

“Jeno!”

Haechan watches as Mark abruptly stands and hugs the newcomer, Jeno.

“Missed me that much?” He hears the newcomer, Jeno, say to mark as he hugs him back with a smile.

“Of course I did, Its been years dude” mark replies as they continue chatting away.

Haechan sits there awkwardly as he feels so out of place, but he knows that moving would only bring more attention toward him.

“Aren't you going to greet your grandmother Jeno” he hears another woman's voice coming from behind Jeno and suddenly he can feel the tension in the air.

A woman looking to be the same age as the queen walks in from behind Jeno and Haechan hears the Queen gasp quietly. The strange woman, whom Haechan assumes to be Jeno’s mom, bows her head a little in front of Mark and bows again to the Queen Dowager, not so subtly ignoring the Queen. 

The Dowager looks so excited at the newcomers and excuses Taeyong, whom Haechan had forgotten the presence of in the room.

“Welcome back! It feels so nice seeing the whole family here at once” The queen Dowager says as she excitedly takes the hands Jeno’s mom. “Have a seat, have a seat!”

Jeno and Mark sit beside Haechan, Mark in the middle, while Jeno’s mom sits beside the Queen.

“And what do we owe to have you back in our presence?” The Queen asks feigning curiosity.

“I heard the news that Mark was getting married, and Jeno and I were just planning to move back to S-Korea, so why not? Jeno’s mom bites back. “Which brings me,” Haechan watches as Jeno’s Mom turns her attention towards him and he can feel his hands getting clammy at the attention, “You’re the Royal fiance right?”

Haechan nods slowly and soon realizes that everyone in the room was looking at him, “Yes, I am” He says out loud in the end. He can hear Mark snort beside him making him turn red from embarrassment. 

Jeno’s mom only smiles. “You would have had to marry my son if my-” she was cut off by the Queen Dowager who has a sad look in her eyes. 

“Don’t bring that up!” Haechan had never heard the Queen Dowager raise her voice that high.

Feeling like the odd one out again Haechan stands and bows to the queen, “I should probably go now, I still have classes today”

The queen Dowager nods and as he was about to leave she speaks up, “Mark and Jeno, You guys also follow, and Mark, take care of Haechan”

Haechan blushes at the mention of his name and walks out of the room faster than he thought was possible. Today just wasn’t his day.

He stopped walking so fast once he remembered that Mark had brought him to the palace and that he didn’t have a ride back to school, and when he was about to face eternal damnation (read: embarrassment), his phone rang.

“Picking it up without checking the caller ID, Haechan managed to wheeze out a little, “Haechan speaking”

“Hyuckie! It’s Jisoo, Jeonghan called and said you might need someone right now, I’m outside” Haechan had never been more happy to have spilt his coffee on Mr. Yoon, If he hadn’t he wouldn’t have had the best looking out for him.

“I’m coming” He said as he cut the call. Walking towards Jisoo’s car, he heard them before he saw them. Mark drove his car right past Haechan, not before shouting, “Have fun finding a ride back!” which made Haechan smirk at him, feeling his confidence coming back and flipping Mark the bird.

“I wouldn’t have ridden with you either way!” he shouts back and looks with victory how Mark’s expression changed as he entered Jisoo’s car. 

 

~~~~~~

 

He didn’t go back to school that day.

Jisoo took him to his home and immediately ushered him into the living room. He made Haechan a cup of tea which Haechan greatly accepted.

The sat in silence, the only sound coming from Haechan’s sips.

“Haechan” Jisoo began, “Do you want to talk about it?”

Haechan shook his head, he has had enough with today and wanted to forget all the information and embarrassing moments he had gone through today.

“Well, I have something to say, It’s a secret though” that caught Haechan’s attention.

“I’m expecting”

It took a while for Haechan to process the information, but when he did he was so happy. 

“Really? Are you sure? Does Mr. Yoon know?” he jumped excitedly on the chair and Jisoo giggled at his reaction.

“Not yet, I want to surprise him”

Haechan felt ecstatic and immediately forgot his problems, Mr. Yoon and Jisoo had been trying to get a child for the past 2 years and they had almost given up. After he and Mr. Yoon became really close he had been subjected to Jisoo’s crying whenever he felt down, but now that he’s expecting, everything is falling into place.

It would have been nice if his life was also falling into place.

“When do you plan on telling him? You know I can’t keep secrets especially one this big”

“When he gets back from work. Do you mind helping me, I have this whole plan in my mind and I need help executing it”

“Of course!”

 

~~~~~~

 

It was time.

He’s finally moving into the palace.

On Friday, after inviting Jaemin and Renjun to help with surprising Mr. Yoon to tears, he had been invited to live with the Yoons for one night.

He went back to his house with his friends and they had gotten all the stuff he wanted to carry with him. Luckily his parents weren’t home.

Since it was a Friday night, he had a mini sleepover at Mr. Yoon’s house with Jaemin and Renjun.

(Not without Jisoo trying to join them and Jeonghan rolling his eyes till he saw his skull at his Husband’s antics.)

And now Saturday came so soon and he was dreading the direction Jisoo was driving towards.

The good thing was that he had all the people he loved to send him off, the bad thing was that he was being sent off.

Arriving at the palace, he saw 4 guys standing outside the gate, seemingly waiting for him.

“I don’t want to go, tell me I don’t have to go!” He panicked where he was sitting in the back of the car as they got closer to the gate and was being comforted by Renjun.

“It’s ok, we’ll come to visit regularly, and it’s not like we won’t ever see each other. You’ll come to school and we’ll sneak you pictures of Jisoo’s protruding stomach, ok?”

He nodded, but he didn’t believe it was that easy.

He got out of the car and hugged his friends. He knew he was going to see them soon, but his life was about to change so he deserved to hold onto the past for a while longer. He thanked Mr. Yoon and Jisoo for all they’ve done and even joked with the topic of the adoption papers. He already thinks of them as his parents, why not make it official?

He waved off to them with a smile they knew was fake but couldn’t do anything to change it.

When Jisoo’s car wasn’t viewable anymore he dropped the smile immediately and hoped to find companionship in the cold ass palace.

He took his bag and walked to meet the 4 men that had been waiting for him since they arrived.

“Your Highness” he slightly cringed at the title, “I’m Jungwoo, and I’m going to be in charge of your training till the wedding” 

Jungwoo had a soft voice with a face that went along with it. He looked nice enough and he hoped he was as nice as he was letting on.  
“These are your personal...guards?” Jungwoo tried introducing the other three men.

“Just call us his maids, no need to sugar coat it” the bunny looking man of the three spoke up. “I’m Doyoung, this is Jaehyun and Yuta, we would be your guards, maids, basically the people who look over you” he smiled towards Haechan and Haechan hoped they would all get along.

“I’m Haechan, as you probably already know, I don't want to be here, if you’re going to be close to me you might as well know I would choose not to be here if I had a better choice”

“We know that” the prince looking one said, Jaehyun was it, “No one necessarily likes what goes on in the Palace, but we were personally assigned to you by Taeyong, he said you’d need it”

Haechan faintly remembered the doctor and smiled. 

“We should get moving” the last man who hadn’t spoken yet, Yuta, said, and Haechan was astonished at the fact that they all had good looks, at least his eyes wouldn't have to burn from looking at Mark all day.

They walked towards Haechan’s living quarters, and once again he was mesmerized at the architecture of the place. His bedroom was in a building set towards the back of a pond he saw on the way there. The building had two bedrooms, thinking that one was going to be Mark’s was already making him annoyed. There was a living room and a dining room and that was all he saw at first glance.

“‘Cause you guys are still underaged” Jaehyun started, “you will be in separate bedrooms, but will be here till you consummate your marriage”

At the word consummate, Haechan got red at shook the thought of his sleeping with Mark away from his head.

Ew.

“You guys won't have to do the traditional consummating yet, because of your age, but the palace is getting desperate, I don't think it’s that far off.”

Haechan had learnt about the traditional consummating before, but he didn’t know they still did it. It’s fucking gross. Basically, the crowned couple have to have sex in front of a see-through curtain and behind that curtain were the officials with a high ranking. He heard some times they have cases of those officials secretly jacking off.

He shivered at the thought of someone watching him do it for the first time. Gross and invasive. 

He dropped his things in his room and sat on his bed, at least it was comfortable.

“You have the day to rest, from tomorrow you will start the training. If you need anything Jaehyun, Yuta and Doyoung would be able to help you, get some rest” Jungwoo told him and left with the other 3.

His room wasn't that bad, he couldn't wait to decorate it. That was his passion. Interior designing. He always had an inkling that he wanted to study that. He was always so precise in decorating any room. 

He changed his clothes and decided to take a little nap.

 

~~~~~~

 

He woke up felling groggy and hungry, he sat up and checked his phone for the time. His eyes widened comically when he realised he practically slept the whole day, it was 6 in the evening and he wanted food. 

He brushed his hair with his hand and went out the room in an attempt to find food. Just when he was starting to think it was weird he hadn’t seen Mark at all, he saw just him sitting on the couch listening to music though his headphones.

He would never admit to saying or thinking that, but he though Mark was cute the way he bobbed his head slightly with his eyes closed.

He shaked his head, “you must be crazy” he said to himself as he continued to look for food, although his search was futile as he didn’t know his way aroung the building.

“Do you need help?” he jumped as he heard the unexpected voice from behind him.

“Don’t creep up on me!” he shouted at Mark clutching his fragile heart.

Mark rolled his eyes, “Well I wouldn’t have had to if you weren’t looking around like a lost puppy” he walked toward the dining table and sat down. “Well, aren’t you hungry?” He said it like it was the most obvious thing.

“If you knew why didn’t you just help?”

Mark looked exasperated and just sighed. “Come sit”

Haechan scoffed but sat, hunger makes him a changed man.

He noticed there was food on the table already, and was frustrated at himself for having been directed.

They ate in silence for the most part, till Mark broke the silence when he was finished.

“I’m sorry for being an asshole most times”

To say Haechan was surprised was an understatement.

“You understand that this is hard for me, but I didn’t think about it from your perspective most times, might as well be on good terms with my fiance” Mark laughed, “I won’t promise to be nice to you all the time, but I will try to be less jerky”

At that Mark stood up and stalked off to his room leaving Haechan speechless.

“What just happened?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun gets used as a pin cushion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its been like a month, but I'm back!!!  
> A little bit of mental health is here and I'm putting a TRIGGER WARNING in case it causes any discomfort for anyone.  
> I hope everyone gets better.  
> p.s I'm not an expert in mental health, if I make mistakes please correct me. I hope I don't offend anyone with this, I'm not trying to glorify mental health issues.

On Renjun’s bed, Renjun and Jaemin lay close together. Renjun snuggled right under Jaemin chin. They rest in a quiet environment with a certain friend’s situation on their minds as they try to relax.

 “Do you think Haechan will be ok there?” Renjun asks as he burrows his nose closer into Jaemins chest.

 “He’s Haechan, of course, he’s going to be ok, although I don’t think he is exactly happy nor comfortable about his situation, Maybe if possible we could ask if we could visit him in the palace”

 Renjun smiled, “That would be awesome” then he gradually falls into sleep.

  


~~~~

  


Haechan woke up the next morning feeling strange. It was the first time in forever that he moved, and the feeling of losing his room was still a new one for him.

 He rolled over in his bed and unplugged his phone from where it was charging to check the time. The time was currently 4:30 am, which only confirms his theory of being uncomfortable. He sat up and stared into the wall for a while, shook his head, and stood up.

 He was thankfully a morning person making this whole process a little easier for him. Memories of last night come flushing in and he cringes at how awkward the whole ‘apologizing’ was. He never wants to experience that again.

 Shuddering one more time, Haechan decided to be productive and continue on his senior project before he hears on knock on the door.

 “Come in”

 It was Yuta.

 Yuta did a little bow-y thing to greet him making Haechan copy his movements.

 “Good morning, I heard noises of movement from outside so I assumed that you were awake and decided to come to check up on you.”

 “Oh it’s fine, I couldn’t sleep that well so I woke up earlier than expected, I hope I’m not bothering you?” Haechan asked and stifled a yawn.

 “Oh no, you’re fine, I was just wondering if you needed anything or just wanted some companion. I know a lot about restless nights and early wakes.”

 Haechan wanted to ask about what Yuta meant by that but decided against it as he just met the guys the day before.

 At that moment Haechan realised that he did not know what the day was going to be like. It was a Sunday and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do.

 “Um, by any chance do you know what the plan for today is?”

 Yuta fidgeted a bit, and bit his lower lip before he responded, “Today you are getting fitted into your wedding outfit, then you will be trained by Jung-woo the ways of the palace for a couple of hours, and after that you are getting a full medical checkup with Taeyong again, because he’s been assigned as your personal physician. And… I think that’s all.”

 Haechan sighed, his schedule has not been this packed since forever, all he did normally was school, homework, sleep, repeat.

 Haechan thanked Yuta for coming to check up on him, then he entered his bathroom to take a long shower, it’s been a long day and he’s been awake for just 30 minutes.

 Entering the bathroom Haechan was wondering why it was steamy like someone just took a shower or Bath.

He heard him before he saw him.

 Haechan almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a cute sneeze. He turned his head fast to find out where the noise was coming from, and he saw Mark Lee in all his half-naked glory.

 He had to admit, Mark was pretty cute. He had a cute nose with weirdly shaped eyebrows that all added to the look. Not to mention he also had abs and pretty broad shoulders.

 He heard a cough and realised he was staring. His cheeks painted a cute pink as he looked away.

 “What are you doing in here?” Mark asked him, which made Haechan scoff.

“Me? This is my Bathroom, the real question is what are _you_ doing in here?”

 Mark rolled his eyes, “I think the bathrooms are connected, they must have just done this because it wasn’t here before you got here. You know what, just scram midget, I’m still in here”

 “Who are you calling Midget, asshole?”

 “Just leave already” mark groaned, frustrated with his fiance. This brought a smile to Haechan’s face, if he’s bored he can just annoy Mark all day. His smile widened to rival that of a Cheshire cat.

 “What if I wanted to shower with you, fiance?” he turned his head to the side and blinked like he was innocent.

 He could have sworn he saw Mark blush for a second before he deeply sighed and left the bathroom. Mark was a lot less scarier than he thought. This was not going to be as boring as he thought it would be.

 He made sure to lock the door that leads to Mark’s room before he took his shower.

  


~~~~

  


He was currently being poked by needles and he did not like it.

 Turns out ‘wedding clothing’ had to be traditional which means he had to get a hanbok made specifically for him. Doyoung, who apparently was the master of sewing, was taking his measure measurements and tailoring the mock hanbok on his body; which means Haechan is more able to get pricked and die.

 Fun.

 Jaehyun was in the corner acting as a needle cushion for Doyoung, it sounds more painful than it actually is.

 “Remind me again why this needs to be a hanbok and I can’t wear a suit?”

 “For the 4th time, Haechan stop moving or I’m actually going to prick you” Doyong complained for the millionth time.

 “It's because Mark is the crown prince and you are going to be his consort/co-king when he ascends the throne” Jaehyun replied wincing as Doyoung accidentally poked him while trying to give him a needle.

 Haechan sighed for the nth time today, it’s been a long ass day.

  


~~~~

  


Training with Jungwoo was not as bad as he thought, as he had already taken an AP course for Korean history. All he needed training on was speaking in public; and the ‘correct’ attitudes to show the public as a member of the royal family.

 Learning how to hold a wine glass was the most fun because Jungwoo could not stop warning Haechan to never drink unless it was from an elder or compulsory.

He still had to read books on how to co-reign. He read about what a consort should do to help his/her significant other, he quickly skipped the pages about sexual positions.

 All in all, he now knows how to drink wine while not really drinking it. Being royal was fun.

  


~~~~

  


Taeyong was still the only person in the palace he was the most acquainted to. Getting his medical checkup was quick but he also felt like he had a genuine mother figure in Taeyong-- more than his biological mother could ever be.

 He found out he was astigmatic and needed corrective lenses, but asides from that he was solid healthy.

 Looks like Taeyong didn’t find out or he was trying to not pay too much attention to it.

 

~~~~

  


Throwing himself on his bed was the most relaxing thing he had done since morning. He was about to sleep comfortably when he heard a knock on his door. He groaned and punched himself to answer, “come in!”

 It was a totally unexpected guest.

 “Jeno?!”

 The said person walked into the room and greeted Haechan with a blinding smile that Haechan had to return.

 “Haechan! It’s so nice to meet you in a not so aggressive way, both times we’ve met haven’t been the best. I heard you had a really busy day today, so I thought I could come and entertain you.”

 Haechan smiled, “you didn’t have too, but thanks either way. Although I’m not so sure how you can entertain me”

 Jeno smirked, “oh, you’d be surprised what I have under my sleeves, but I suggest we play a get to know each other game, as we are still kinda strangers”

 “How about 20 questions?” Haechan suggested.

 “Sounds good, I’ll go first, how old are you?”

 “Easy, I’m 17, um how about you?”

“I’m also 17, why did you decide to marry Mark?”

 Haechan didn’t expect that question and he felt kinda bothered by it. He laughed awkwardly and bit his lip, “I was Bethrothed at birth?” He answered in a question back.

 Jeno looked like he was still expecting something, but after Haechan didn’t budge he left it at that.

 “What…?” and the game continued till they very much passed twenty questions and became somewhat friend.

 

It was around 6pm when Jeno left and Haechan could not stop thinking about the second question Jeno asked him. There must been a motive behind his little visit, and while Haechan did like Jeno he was still suspicious.

 He was about to go back to sleep when his breath hitched in his throat, he knew he was having a panic attack, but he didn’t know what triggered it. He decided it was time to call Jaemin.

 When his best friend picked up, he heard a moan in the background and quickly hung up. Maybe later.

 He went to look for something to eat and was glad Yuta had shown him where the refrigerator was placed this morning.

 He acknowledges he stress eats, and that It’s probably not the healthiest coping mechanism, but oh well.

 He found a tube of ice cream and took it out with a spoon. He didn’t bother putting a small portion in a bowl, and sat beside the fridge on the ground.

 He hopes no one finds him in this position but he also doesn’t know how to handle it himself. He always had Jaemin to help him whenever he gets like this.

 He had trouble swallowing as he was hyperventilating, but food was the only thing calming him down now. (He was surprised when Taeyong didn’t mention finding any traces of Prozac in his blood).

 He was trying to close his eyes but the tears made it uncomfortable, he tried taking deep breaths but he could hardly breathe.

 He was starting to dissociate when he heard a voice in the distance. Someone was trying to help him come back to reality and breath, but he couldn’t register whose voice it belonged to.

 He tried following the help but he had dissociated completely, the spoon falling from his hands and staring blankly at the wall like he had done this morning when he woke up. He should have known something was wrong, his life had been topsy turvy for a while.

 

Mark’s 3rd person limited POV

 He didn’t know what to do, he had never seen anyone like this before. He tried helping the boy on the floor calm down and at some point he started breathing well, but then something was wrong.

 He wasn't… reacting. He just sat there. He tried shaking him wondering if he fell asleep, but when the boy almost fell from the pushing, Mark knew that the boy had dissociated. He remembered Taeyong's talk this afternoon. He had told Mark to be watchful of Haechan, and he hadn’t fully grasped what he meant until now.

 He removed the tube of ice cream from Haechan’s lap and placed it back in the fridge. He placed the fallen spoon in the sink. Then Mark carried Haechan to his room and placed him on the bed. He turned off the lights and closed the door to remove any sounds. He placed a warm blanket on Haechan and watched as the boy closed his eyes, falling asleep.

 He sat on the couch in his room and sighed. He didn’t know the boy was suffering from some kind of issue, although he should have guessed from the boy’s parents. 

He groaned when he realised he was an asshole to the boy currently on his bed. He shook his head and watched the boy sleeping peacefully.

 

What must have caused someone so beautiful to be this vulnerable?

 

And why does Haechan act like he's not going through any hard times at all?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this, I know I don't update regularly and I'm not the best writer, but I love it every time any comments get added or someone like this. thank you all love y'all and BYE.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding!!  
> Finally.

Jeno drops the final box of his belongings in his room and stretches back. It's been a long day of finally settling into his new house. 

He hasn't been in Korea for years now and it feels really weird to be permanently moved here again.

He goes down the stairs in search for a beverage that can quench his thirst and settles for a cold bottle of water. Gulping down he sees his mom at the corner of his eyes and watches her with sadness in his eyes.

She had been through a lot, moving was probably not the greatest idea. But it was her idea.

~~~~

Haechan woke up with a slight headache and groaned as he gradually opened his eyes. He sat up and noticed how different his room was and got more confused as he realized this wasn't his room at all. Getting more conscious of his surroundings, he noticed a sleeping figure on one of the couches in the room.

Realizing it was Mark, Haechan got more confused and a little bit scared. He doesn't remember much from the day before and he wasn't that close to Mark to be sleeping on his bed.

He quietly got out of the bed and made his way out of the room. With speed he didn't know he had, he rushed to his own bedroom and crashed on the bed. Patting around his bed for his phone until he found it and checked the time. It was currently 3am.

He groaned and his headache became worse and he slipped back into slumber.

~~~~

Haechan was harshly woken up at 7am by Jaehyun. He immediately squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears with his hands because of the head crushing pain that just passed through his head.

"Argh!"

Jaehyun was shocked and quickly moved to Haechan's side.

"Hey! Are you ok?!"

"Stop being so fucking loud!" Haechan shouted in response. He stood up from the bed and glared at a still shocked Jaehyun.

"I'm sorry your highness" Jaehyun bowed to Haechan as an apology which made Haechan feel like an asshole.

"I'm so sorry for blowing up on you like that. I have an headache and shouting made it worse. And please don't call me your highness, Haechan is perfectly fine"

"Ok your highne- Haechan" Jaehyun replied although Haechan could still see the remorse and carefully hidden fear in his eyes.

He sighed and told Jaehyun he was going to use the bathroom.

Mistake #1

He entered the bathroom and brushed his teeth first. Afterwards he took off his clothing and entered the shower. The warm water and relaxing sound of water hitting the ground was all calming to him and he didn't hear anything outside the shower.

He turned the water off, took his towel and was about to get out of the bathroom when he heard Mark opening his door.

"Stop!" He screamed before Mark could fully open the door. He shut his eyes and muttered profanities as he opened the shower door and locked Mark's side of the bathroom.

"Fuck, that was close" he dried himself up and unlocked Marks door, knocking on it twice to make sure Mark knew he was done. He then raced to his room and closed the door.

He wore his uniform and went out of his room to get ready for one more torturous day at school. At least he was graduating soon.

He walked to the dining table and waited for Mark to come so he could start his breakfast and leave for school earlier. While waiting he remembered the fact that he was going to be married in a week and screamed a little.

Life was so frustrating.

Mark came out about 30 minutes later all clad in his uniform and bag. He sat opposite Haechan and started eating. Haechan took that as a sign that his wait was over. He also started eating, but didn't have much appetite to finish his plate.

As he was playing around with his food until it was time to go to school, Mark spoke up.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Haechan scrunched up his eyebrows, "what do you mean by that?"

Mark's eyes widened as he looked straight at Haechan's face, "you don't remember anything from yesterday?"

Haechan shaked his head no.

"Oh, I see" Mark then stood up. "We have to leave now, so stop playing with your food like a child and get up" Mark walked away leaving Haechan astonished with a strong wave of deja vu.

The ride to school was pretty awkward as neither of them said anything.

Haechan quickly got out of the car as soon as they arrived to the school. He spotted Jaemin and Renjun at the far back and speed walked towards them. 

"Hey"

"Don't 'hey' us" Renjun started, "how was it? Is living royal to your liking?" 

Haechan rolled his eyes, "if you count having a panic attack on the second day of living there, then yeah, it is to my liking"

Jaemin perked up at that, "Hae are you ok?"

Haechan sighed and his shoulders deflated, " No I'm not. I'm sorry for blowing up on you Renjun, you don't deserve that. I'm just tired and cranky because of yesterday. I remember someone helping me when I was panicking, but after that I don't remember much, but this morning the craziest thing happened."

"What happened? Are you ok?" Renjun asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah I'm fine, but I woke up in Mark's bed this morning and I have no memory of what happened before"

"You weren't naked right?" 

"Jaemin!" Renjun shouted making Haechan giggle.

"Thankfully, and besides I doubt our little prince is a rapist"

"Oh, defending the fiance are we now" 

"Shut up Jaemin!" Haechan said while blushing, catching Renjun's eyes.

"Are you really blushing? Where is the real Haechan and what have you done to him?" Renjun asked in disbelief.

This caused Jaemin to scrutinize Haechan deeply.

"Did you already fall for Mark?" Jaemin asked in a sincere tone.

"Of course not" Haechan replied almost immediately.

"Not yet" Renjun muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Haechan asked.

"Nothing, lets go to class, we wouldn't want to be late now would we?"

"I guess…" Haechan replied still suspicious.

Jaemin smiled fondly at the two's interaction. Put his arms around both their necks as he dragged them along.

"Let's go!"

~~~~

Later that week during lunch Haechan, Jaemin and Renjun found it hard to find a sit in the cafeteria because for some reason Mark Lee had decided he wanted to eat with his fiance.

And since Mark was Mark, the whole school wanted to see what was going to happen, hence the crowded cafeteria.

They found a table at the far right corner of the cafeteria, and sat there waiting anxiously.

"Why does he want to eat with you all of a sudden?" Renjun groaned out loud, "it's not like he suddenly became the best fiance in the world."

"I have no clue either Renjun" Haechan responded. He genuinely didn't, Mark had just barged into his homeroom that morning declaring that he was going to eat lunch with him that day. Mr. Yoon sent him a smirk after Mark had left and he sank into his seat out of embarrassment.

As if on cue, Mark entered the cafeteria in search for Haechan making the whole student body rowdy.

Once Mark spotted Haechan he power walked towards him. Sending a smile Jaemin and Renjun's way he sat beside Haechan and sent a charming smile his way.

"Hey fiance, how's you day so far?" Mark asked.

"Disturbing" haechan responded, "what are you doing?" He whispered towards Marks direction, leaning in to make sure Mark heard him.

"Just dining with my fiance anything wrong with that?" Mark said as he also leaned towards Haechan causing him to move back fast and blush uncontrollably. Mark smirked once he saw it.

Haechan cleared his throat and looked towards his friends direction. "What's on the menu for lunch Jaemin?"

Jaemin sputtered at the attention. Everyone had gone quiet the second Mark had started talking which means that everyone was now listening to him.

"Uhh, I don't really remember, junnie do you?" Jaemin asked transferring the attention to Renjun which earned him a glare from his boyfriend.

After getting their lunch, the crowd had dissipated a bit leaving Haechan with more room to breath.

"Why are you here, really" he tried again.

Mark sighed, "ok fine, the queen said we need to get closer and threatened me if I didn't do something."

Haechan rolled his eyes, "you could have told me all this earlier rather than causing a scene."

"But where is the fun in that" 

Renjun snorted at their conversation and caught the fiances attention. He raised both arms up in defense and used Jaemin as a human shield, "protect me, Jaemin, from the royal stares" he fake shivered, making everyone on the table laugh, including Mark.

Everything was looking up. It seemed.

 

~~~~

 

It's so amazing how a week can fly by so fast leaving you whiplashed at the end of it.

Haechan was feeling pretty whiplashed as today was his wedding day. A lot happened this week, including getting to know Mark more, a stranger could pass by and dare to call them friends was how close they got. Getting closer to them though, you could still see how distant and guarded they are to each other.

Haechan had pretty much been ignoring the fact that he was getting married for the past week and it was worrying Jaehyun, Yuta, Doyoung and Taeyong.

He was currently being made up by Yuta, the wonders of this man, in his room. Jisung, who was the unnamed boy who visited Haechan with the queen dowager just two weeks ago, was in the room too.

Haechan found out that Jisung was Mark's younger brother, but the reason why he didn't know about him was because he was rarely in Korea hence no tabloids on him.

Yuta had finished the light makeup look on Haechan and tugged him up so he wore his hanbok.

Putting on the hanbok, Haechan felt the weight of the whole situation -asides from the fact that the hanbok weighed 100 lbs.

He took a deep breath as he waited in his room. The wedding was semipublic, which meant that his friends could be there, but it also meant his parents could be there. He hadn't seen them for half a month and was dreading when he would.

He sighed as he tuned out Jisung's overexcited China description. Jisung had taken a liking to him when he saw him. Unfortunately he left soon cause he had school, but he just came back and was eager to get close to Haechan. Jisung was also the only one who called him 'hyuckie' a shortened form of his real name because, "I want to be unique, hyung"

Haechan felt back for tuning him out but he was on the verge of a breakdown and didn't want to cause a scene.

After a while Jaehyun came into the room.

"It's time"

Haechan sighed and stood up, not before Jisung took his right hand in his and sent him a reassuring smile.

"You've got this hyung, I can't wait to be related to you"

Haechan was thankful for that and hugged Jisung, "thank you."

He walked towards Jaehyun who led the way to the venue.

Jungwoo had taught his all he had to do and what he needs to say, so he wasn't concerned about that. He just wanted to get the wedding over with and not have to deal with his parents.

He put on a smile and walked right into the ceremony. If he was getting married, might as well look happy while doing it.

~~~~

The ceremony ended as fast as it started. Since it was a traditional one, there was none of that 'you may know kiss' or saying vows, it was just filled with the elders telling them what they should and should not do and blessing them with fruitfulness.

Unfortunately because it ended so fast he couldn't find his friends nor the Yoon's in the crowd, and that dampened his mood.

Currently he was in a room with Mark and they were basically locked in there till the next morning.

Now, Haechan was grateful that they didn't have to consummate their relationship (yet). But still, having to share a room with Mark was nerve racking.

It was really quiet as none of them wanted to speak. 

Mark was playing with the cup in front of him and the monosyllabic continuous noise was making Haechan go crazy.

"Could you stop that? Please"

Mark looked at him straight in the eyes, then Haechan realised that Mark is also going through what he us going through.

"Stop what?"

"That thing you're doing the the cup, it's annoying"

Mark sighed and stopped. He moved to remove the uncomfortable piece of clothing on his body, but that only caused Haechan to fret.

"What are you doing!?"

"Calm down, I'm only trying to get comfortable, you should too, and I bet that hanbok must weigh more than you"

Haechan nodded his head and moved to remove the hanbok, luckily he had worn shorts and a top under it so he wasn't completely naked. 

Afterwards they were back to being silent. The silence was more loud than when Mark was playing with the cup so he decided to bring up a conversation.

"I heard from some of the help that I was supposed to Marry Jeno instead" he started.

He thought he stuck a nerve when Mark froze, "I'm sorry, you don't have to-"

"Its true"

"Huh?"

"You were supposed to get married to Jeno instead of me"

"Then how come…?"

Mark sighed, "When we were little kids, Jeno was the crown prince. My grandfather stated that you had to marry the crown prince, but since Jeno's dad died and my dad took the throne making me the crown prince, the betrothed kinda changed."

"Oh" Haechan couldn't understand why Jeno and Mark were still on good terms, he could imagine the tension that story could bring up.

"Are you hap- glad it changed?"

"Well, sometimes. Like right now I could do with having a husband so young, but then again I feel really passionate to take after my dad. I'm not so interested in politics but I do care about the people"

"Eww, you sound so old" 

Mark chuckled, making Haechan chuckle also.

They fell back into silence, but it was a lot more comfortable and bearable now than before.

"Aren't you wondering why I kissed you that one time?" Mark asked which caught Haechan off guard.

"Well...I mean...yeah who wouldn't?"

"I wanted to do something outside of my comfort zone and out of tradition. I just wanted to do something spontaneous. Thinking about it now, it was kinda stupid" he laughed when Haechan nodded.

"But something about you makes me want to do things I shouldn't and wouldn't on a regular basis" 

Haechan furrowed his eyebrows, "I do?"

"Well no need for the I do's we're already married" Mark responded making Haechan glare at him.

Mark laughed, "let's go to sleep yeah"

Haechan frowned but got on the bed either way. He laid as a starfish leaving Mark speechless.

"If you sleep like that, where am i supposed to sleep" Haechan could almost hear the pout in Mark's voice, almost.

"On the ground, duh" Haechan said matter of factly.

Mark rolled his eyes and moved Haechan over to make space for himself.

Haechan could feel his blood run up north as Mark touched his waist but covered it up with a cough.

"Good night"

"Sweet dreams, husband"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone catch the ariana grande reference in this chapter. If you didn't it has something to do with dangerous woman😏.
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> !!Mark's birthday!! *Gone wrong*  
> Pls Read the notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realized there was no real start time for this fic so here it is.  
> When they first met it was January. Like they just got back form Christmas break. They got married in January also.  
> When I say "a little over amonth and a half" in the fic, I mean late february/early March.  
> Just wanted to clear that up incase it bothered or confused anyone.  
> !!!Enjoy the fic!!!  
> (Please do, and leave a comment if you feel like it)

“May I come in?” the queen asked as she knocked on the King’s bedroom door.

“It’s open” King Hyun answers.

Queen Min enters the door with the aid of a help opening the door. She walks in with a tray of the king’s medicine, and places the tray by the bedside table. She bows to the king currently reading a book on the bed.

King hyun doesn’t acknowledge the queen’s presence in the room as she walks out after the bow.

Queen Min tries to hide her sniffs.

 

~~~~

 

Mark walks up to the Queen's room as she had called for him.

"You asked to see me mom?"

"Mark! How dare you! You know your manners have been slacking lately and it's all because I haven't been paying attention is it?"

"I'm sorry your majesty. It was a mistake that won't ever happen again" Mark bowed, little out of fear and to hide his tears.

"You should know who you are, you're the Crowned Prince for goodness sake, don't let that ever happen again, get out I've lost anymore patience to speak with you"

"Yes your majesty"

 

~~~~

 

Since the wedding night, Mark and Haechan have genuinely learnt to tolerate each other. Sure they still had their bickering moments (there were a lot of those) and their unbearably awkward situations (mostly when the queen dowager talked about great grandchildren), but they also had their civilized moments and playful ones too.

The school was in an uproar when Mark's birthday inched closer. Haechan had so many girls walk up to him asking what Mark liked the most. 

First of all, how would he know. He's known Mark for a little over a month and a half now, but they had just started to get comfortable around each other. Secondly, Mark is a Married man, those girls have no shame at all asking his 'husband' for tips on how to get mushy with Mark.

He plopped on Mr. Yoon's desk, taking the red apple on the table. 

"This looks juicy, thanks!" Haechan said as he took a huge bite out of the apple.

"hey!" Mr. Yoon snarched the apple out of Haechans hands, sulking at the huge bite. "Get your own husband to buy you a juicy apple and leave mine alone"

"I could, but would he actually?"

"You seem to underestimate my morals" Mark said. Coming into Mr. Yoon's classroom unexpected.

Haechan looked towards Mark's direction in shock, "what are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd come visit you, figured you'd be with Jeonghan"

"Don't call him by his first name it's disrespectful!" Haechan scolded Mark.

"Who? Mr. Yoon? we're closer than you think." Mark said as he took the apple that Mr. Yoon was holding and took a bite from it.

Haechan gasped scandalously. "What is this Mr. Yoon? Or if that's even your real name?" 

Mr. Yoon (Jeonghan) raised both his hands up in surrender. "You never asked me if I knew Mark more than just in a student front"

"So what is the connection?" Haechan asked as he took the apple from Mark as he sat beside him on the desk.

"I've been Mark's teacher since middle school, I was fresh out of college, landed my first job as Mark's homeroom teacher"

"How come you've never said anything about this?" Haechan shot back.

"You didn't ask" Mr. Yoon shrugged as he mourned the loss of his apple.

"So what do you have planned for your birthday Mark?" Mr. Yoon asked.

"Nothing much, was thinking of going to the old palace and just relaxing there" he shrugged.

"And why would you do that when you have me now?" Haechan asked. Mr. Yoon covered his mouth in mock surprise.

"What does having you make any difference in my plans?" Mark shot back.

"Well for one, wouldn't you want to celebrate your 18th with your friends and me, although I doubt I'll like any of them."

"What makes you think I'll even invite you in that situation?"

"I'm your fucking husband! I don't need an invitation"

"Watch your profanity" Mr. Yoon mutteres from the background.

"Well 'husband' why don't you plan my birthday then. Lets see how wonderful you are!"

"Ok then!"

"Hmph!"

Mr. Yoon rolled his eyes at their bickering and sent them away from his classroom, warding away all the negative energy they brought into his classroom.

 

~~~~

 

Haechan was having a meeting on his bedroom floor with Jaemin, Renjun and Jisung about Mark's birthday party.

"I still don't know why you decided to take on the duty of planning his birthday. You could've just let him relax and be lazy" Renjun expressed as he shoved a handful of gummy worms into his mouth.

"It was in the heat of the moment, I felt compelled to do something!" Haechan groaned and laid flat on the ground.

"Well if you think about this positively, you could use think as a mode for getting better at interior designing" Jaemin tried cheering him up.

"But then it has to be an indoor party for that to happen"

"Well make it an indoor party" Renjun responded. "And why aren't you saying anything mochi?" He stared at Jisung.

Haechan's friends had quickly befriended Jisung when they realized how much they could baby him without consequence.

Jisung blushed and cowered a little.

"I'm just worrying if hyung's alright, he never really does anything on his birthday, and quite frankly I'm surprised he even told you to plan his birthday."

"Well Jisungie, little Marky might just be in love with hyuckie over here" Jaemin cooed as he pinched Jisung's cheeks. 

It was now Haechan's turn to blush. "I don't think that's it, he just seems to want to make my life difficult."

"Well so what are you planning for his birthday?" Renjun asks.

"A new idea that just popped up in my head was if we could do like a mini sleepover type thing. Like not the lame sleepovers, but like the ones were we like have like a party, and then play some games and then like a sleepover type thing. You get me?"

"Gosh, the amount of times you said 'like' in that statement just took all my brain cells away." Renjun responded."and that just sounds like every sleepover. Mark is turning 18, I doubt he needs a sleepover for a birthday party" 

"Well how about just a little party with just his friends and us, cause I shan't be lonely, and then they can sleep over if they wanted too?"

"Shan't? Who are you, Williams Shakespeare" Renjun scoffed.

"Ignoring him, Who do you plan on inviting though? Mark hyung almost hangs out with no one except Jeno and a few other guys from his year" Jisung queried.

"Well, I would invite you guys, myself for some reason, those people he does hangout with and Jeno. It doesn't have to be a big party."

Jisung nodded feeling satisfied with the answer.

"Where's the venue going to be?" Jaemin asked.

"Mark hyung always goes to the old palace for his birthdays, so it could be there?" Jisung answered.

They continued discussing the plan until Yuta entered the room and told them it was late already.

They all said their goodbyes and Haechan felt more confident that day.

~~~~

He was ready, he had the guest list and invitations all sent out. He had asked the Queen Dowager for the permission to invite people into the old palace, and he had his outfit handpicked by Jaemin himself. 

Nothing could go wrong now.

The 'party' started around 7-ish. Mark and Haechan were already there, and were trying to fix every little problem they could find.

"I'm pretty impressed husband, you managed to arrange this in a few days without combusting. When Taeyong threw me my 10th, he literally vowed to never go to another party again" Mark walked closer to Haechan and helped put the Happy Birthday banner up.

"Did you bore him out that much with your… Mark-ness?" Haechan looked him in the eyes and smirked at him.

"Haha, very funny, I'll have you know I was the life of the party and because of that he upgraded and took back his word, he actually arranged the queen's banquet" Mark took a macaroon and popped it into his mouth.

"Hey! Stop eating the food before the guests arrive"

"It's my birthday party, I get special treatment"

Haechan scoffed and muttered under his breath, "you're the fucking Crown Prince of South Korea, your entire life is special treatment"

Although Mark had heard him perfectly clear.

Mark turned towards him with an upcoming scowl and walked closer to Haechan. "And who are you to say anything about that, Crown Consort?"

"Nothing leave it"

Mark let out a little sarcastic laugh, "Oh, I should let it go, but if you knew what it actually fucking meant to be the Crown Prince, I don't think you'd talk like that"

Haechan let out another scoff, "you know what you sound like? Like those rich boys who claim they struggle through life because they're too rich, save us the struggle and just accept the fact that you're privileged, Mark"

"Privileged? Can you get anymore obnoxious? If you were in my position you won't be saying those things" Mark moved closer to Haechan so they were all up in each other's spaces, "Besides you're the one to talk, you used me as a literal escape from your parents, if I knew you were going to be this obnoxious I should have left you hyperventilating beside the fridge, maybe then you-"

"Shut the fuck up Mark Lee!" Jaemin came in and rushed to Haechan's side to pull him away from Mark. "And to think he's been preparing this whole party for your fucking birthday."

"No Jaemin, you don't-" Haechan tried calming him down, he knew he started this whole thing.

Jaemin ignored him and slammed a present on the table beside him, "Happy Birthday, asshole"  
He then dragged Haechan out of the old Palace.

 

~~~~

 

Haechan had retired back into his room with Jaemin and Renjun.

Renjun had been notified by Jaemin to just come straight to Haechan's room when he arrived. 

"Damn, now I feel like an asshole" Jaemin sighed.

"That's why I was trying to silence you dumbass, and on his birthday, I'm the worst" Haechan groaned as he recalled the events.

"But to be fair, the both of you were at fault, you shouldn't have poked fun at him, and he shouldn't have made a joke about your mental state, intentionally or not. That shouldn't be a playful territory." renjun added.

"I should apologize"

"Well of course you have to. But I just want to say the both of you have a high sexual tension surrounding you guys." Jaemin jokes to lighten up the mood. "When I first entered the room I wasn't sure if y'all were going to aggressively make out or kill each other, honestly I'm kinda sad it was the latter."

"Jaemin the door is right there" Haechan pointed at the door, "use it"

"Sorry your highness, I was just trying to get your sexual life more… Sexual"

Haechan used to closest pillow as a weapon to shut Jaemin up. "Shut up asshole"

"Oh I'm the asshole now, you were about to eat another asshole when I-"

Haechan launched himself at Jaemin, but Renjun was quick enough to protect his boyfriend from the impending death.

 

~~~~

 

Haechan had mustered up the courage to go back to the old palace with his friends. He had cooled off his steam thanks to Jaemin, but he still felt very nervous to talk to Mark again. He was an asshole to Mark for no reason, and Mark had every right to talk to him the way he did. He just hopes Mark would forgive him, and his marriage won't turn out for worse.

Entering the crime scene, there seemed to be way more people than he invited over. Sure Jeno was there, but so was Jennie and her little posse. There was also a couple he couldn't recognize. He noticed Jisung at the very corner of the room speaking to an unidentified boy. But no signs of Mark anywhere.

He left Renjun and Jaemin to ask Jisung where his brother went.

"...sorry to interrupt, but Jisung do you by chance know where Mark is?"

"Yeah, he's in the room on the very far left of the hallway, by the way this is Chenle, my boyfriend"

"Nice to meet you Chenle, and I would love to stay and chat, but this is very important, hopefully after this we can speak again soon"

He sent a smile their way and hurried off to the room. He knocked on the door for good measure, but after hearing no reply he went in either way.

Upon entering Mark was laying on the bed looking distractedly at the ceiling.

He cleared his throat to get Mark's attention. 

"What's the birthday boy doing all alone in his room?"

Mark ignored him and continued to stare blankly at the ceiling.

Haechan sighed and sat on the other side of the bed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that about you when I didn't know the whole situation. I'm sorry about the rich boy comment too. I don't know why I went off like that but I hope you forgive me"

Haechan waited for a reply but when one wasn't coming he resorted to giving Mark his space.

As he was leaving the room. Mark abruptly stood up and stopped Haechan from leaving. "Wait!"

Haechan looked at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry about making your mental state seem like something I could just use against you, that was so-"

"It's ok, I started it-" Haechan interrupted him just to be interrupted back.

"It's not okay, you weren't in a position to handle yourself and I used that against you in a petty argument, I'm so sorry" Mark looked genuinely sorry and Haechan felt even worse for making him feel like that.

"Its fine, really Mark, I'm fine" Haechan widened his arms, "we good?"

Mark scoffed, and although his eyes and cheeks were red, he went into the hug. 

"Yeah"

They stayed in that position for a while and later resorted to laying on the bed staring at the ceiling for awhile. After some time Haechan turned his head to ask Mark a question.

"Oh, and by the way did you know Jisung had a boyfriend?"

"HE WHAT?!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ♋

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.
> 
> I know I haven't updated in a while and while I would like to put up an elaborate excuse of why I couldn't, I won't but, I will. I just lost interest for a while. I was busy (and still am) with various summer programs (because colleges love a fucking well rounded student) and I didn't find the time nor strength to update. 
> 
> But the good new is that I'm back and ready to semi update regularly again. I know a lot of people might have lost interest in this and that's ok, just don't fight me. I'm a cancer I get sensitive real fast. If you by any chance also read code red, imma update that in a few days, so you might want to read it again to remember the plot or don't, its totally up to you.
> 
> Please enjoy this update, it took me a few days to get inspiration back and I hope every single one of you like it or tolerate it as a mere meh.
> 
> Ps. It's not beta read, but you know that.

Inhwa, Year 6, King Byul dies,

Princess Min drop eye level to speak with the child. 

"You are now the Crown Prince, no more reckless playing and not paying attention to your classes. You are not speak with Jeno like his is superior, because you are superior now. Do you understand me Mark?"

"Yes mom"

"You are not to ever call me mom again, you shall call me 'Your Majesty' do you understand?"

"Yes...Your Majesty"

~~~~

The royal couple decided to ignore the rest of the party and sleep in. He and Mark had seemed to have had enough of the day and resolved to facing the problem (reality) tomorrow.

Now, while Mark was fast asleep Haechan was wide awake, head full of thoughts and he evaluated his life so far. He wondered why he was so concerned about Mark's feelings when he realised he might have wronged him. 

Just a couple weeks ago and he wouldn't have cared if Mark had died, now he can't bare the thought of Mark getting mad at him.

He shifted under the blankets and faced Mark's seemingly peaceful face. Mark looked like a baby with his eyes closed and muscles relaxed. Just then he felt the sudden urge to feel the slope that is Mark's face and he felt his hand gravitating towards his cheek to feel the bone. And just at that moment the door slammed open making Haechan close his eyes and drop his hands so fast.

Just his luck and his hand ended up around Mark's neck. The culprit who had entered the room was none other than Jeno. Once he saw the couple 'sleeping' he gently walked out the door and closed it.

Haechan let out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he could hear a faint, "they are sleeping, let's continue this tomorrow" from Jeno outside the door.

He gently removed his hand from marks neck and took a good look at Mark's face. He could feel his heartbeat gradually increasing making his eyes go wide at every palpitation. He closed his eyes and counted to ten before calming down completely.

"Fuck"

~~~~

Haechan woke up feeling a lot more comfortable than he should be. Since the weather was still generally chilly he was thankful for the warmth he felt, but it was a very strange warmth.

He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Mark's big pupils wide and open just a few centimeters away from his.

He blinked once...twice...thrice, before he put a drastic space in between them. Only then did he realize that Mark's hand and practically half of Mark's body was on top of his.

He screamed in his head but put on a smiling face. 

"Good morning!"

Mark seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was stuck in and cleared his throat, "yeah morning"

There was an awkward silence between them as Haechan thought of what to say. Although Mark beat him to it.

"So about yesterday" he started, "I really am so sorry about what I said, if I could take it back I would in a heartbeat. I'm so sorry"

"I'm sorry about what I said too, but we should really stop with this apologizing thing if not we're never gonna forget about it" 

Mark nodded and shifted closer to Haechan. "Sure thing" he closed his eyes and seemed more relaxed and drifted off to sleep right underneath Haechans chin.

Heachn could feel his heart racing again, but he was saved by the door, when a scream and a thousand knocks came through it.

"Im gonna open this door in 3 seconds. If both of you are not decent, I'm gonna spread word to granny that you got Haechan pregnant already!" came Jisung's shout accompanied by an unidentifiable dolphin countdown.

"3...2...1!!!!"

Jisung burst open the door to find Haechan and Mark on the opposite ends of the room looking totally scandalized. A ball of green hair could be seen peeking out behind Jisung. Whom Haechan identified to be Chenle from last night.

Mark groaned and stood up from the bed marching towards Jisung to scold him about privacy, when Jaemin ran through the door to Jump on Haechan.

"Baby!" He screamed. "He didn't do anything to you right?" he exclaimed as he checked Haechan's body for any signs of abuse.

Snapping out of his shock Haechan stopped Jaemin's examinations on his body and looked at him in confusion.

"Why are you guys still here?"

"Because someone decided to forget it was his own birthday party and left the guest without the host" Jeno said as he walked through the door. 

mark scratched the back of his head as his face showed signs of guilt. "My bad"

Jaemin clapped his hand, effectively getting the attention of everyone in the room. "Why don't we open the presents now!"

Green hair (Chenle) seemed excited as he bounced in his steps to the living room of the building.

Haechan scoffed lightly when all the intruders left the room. He stood up from the bed and walked to the bathroom to wash his face. 

He almost had a heart attack when he could feel a presence beside him as he rinsed off the soap with water.

He managed to peek from his left eye to see what it was, but he immediately felt his blood run North when he saw Mark's questioning face.

He dried his face with a towel and left the bathroom without a word. His mind was working 500m/h as he contemplated why he was suddenly feeling the way he was feeling.

He shook his head and went to the living room. 'It's just a fluke' he thought.

~~~~

Mark got a lot of interesting gifts. A mildly terrifying knife from Jaemin, a broken mirror from Renjun and a used sock (1 sock) from Jisung. It was overwhelming for Mark to say the least.

The good presents came from the rest, as Jeno got him new headphones, Chenle got him a goodluck talisman from China and Haechan gave him a sneaker with hand made designs.

Afterwards, everyone left gradually leaving only Mark, Haechan, Jisung, Chenle and Jeno remaining.

Mark was interrogating Jisung and Chenle, leaving Haechan and Jeno to converse.

"So how's married life?" Jeno asked as they sat on the sofa.

"As good as it can get with Mark being your spouse" Haechan replied erupting a laugh from Jeno.

"So, I was thinking, If you had a chance to leave him would you take it?"

"I- I'm not sure, I mean this was my grandpa's last wish, might as well honor it"

"But Mark wasn't the person your grandpa wanted you to marry"

"It was supposed to be you huh, but well, what happened happened, and I ended up with Mark"

"You're not his type you know?" Jeno smiled, glancing at Mark and then back at Haechan.

"And so what? I'm still with him whether he likes it or not" 

"If I told you there was a way to get out would you take it?"

"And what exactly is this way?"

"Get together with me" Jeno said looking serious, "if you tell the rulers you want to be with me instead, there's no way they can stop you, since I was the original ruler at first"

"You can't possibly mean what you're saying" Haechan shifted on the couch, getting uncomfortable with Jeno.

"I mean it. Think about it-"

"I would appreciate it if you did not talk to my husband, the royal consort, like that" came Mark's stern voice.

Jeno's expression changed dramatically as he went from being serious to smiling all of a sudden. "Talk to your husband in what way dear cousin?"

"Leave! Jeno" Mark tried feeling really annoyed.

"So be it, oh mighty cousin" Jeno said as he rolled his eyes and left the palace. 

Mark watched him leave and then went back into his room while aggressively slamming the door shut.

Haechan could not be any less dumbfounded as he was after that interaction. He followed Mark after hearing the door shut to try calming him down, but he sent Jisung and Chenle to the main Palace first reassuring them that everything was ok.

Upon entering the room, he could see Mark on the bed looking confused and hurt.

"Hey" he tried.

"Um, yeah…"

"Is there anything going on between you and Jeno that I don't know about?"

"Nothing...it's just that recently, anytime we hang out he seems different. He also makes many odd comments that makes me really uncomfortable"

Mark sighed and shifted to face Haechan.

"Like he makes this offhand jokes about how life would be different if his dad hadn't died. It makes me really conscious around him. And then he goes around joking about stealing you away to make things right… I don't know, it's just really weird"

"Weren't you guys chill about the whole change of crown prince situation though"

"That was what I thought but apparently not"

"Either way don't get so worked up about Jeno stealing me away or anything, it's not like you actually like me or anything"

Ouch

He actually didn't expect to get hurt by his own comment. But the look of realization and relief on Mark's face when he said that was weird.

"Yeah, I guess" Mark replied as he had finally calmed down.

"Wanna what a movie, now that we're free?" Mark suggested.

"Yeah, but barbie only"

"What!? Don't look at me like that barbie is bae and nothing can change my mind" Haechan said as he walked to the living room to keep him mind and heart straight.

"I married a barbie fan, eww" 

 

~~~~

 

Several days after the whole Mark's birthday of 20xx, Haechan once again invited his friends over, which also included Jisung and Chenle by proxy.

They were all talking about various topic when Haechan got lost in thought as he remembered how Mark had changed completely towards him. He was almost like a completely different person from the initial Mark he met.

He realised how much of a dork Mark was and how clumsy and idiotic and clueless Mark was. He recalled a time when they had a barbie marathon because mark was an "uncultured swine" with anything amazing, and mark tripped while bringing the popcorn over.

He tripped on nothing, absolutely nothing, it's like Jisung's chaotic hands was simultaneous with Mark's chaotic legs. It ran in the family or something.

There was also another time when Mark decided to explore Haechan's room, because he hadn't been there yet. He made different comments about how Haechan had decorated his room, but stayed true to his uncultured nature by not recognizing the artworks on the wall.

("Am I supposed to know who Van Gogh is?"

"Yes!")

"Haechan!" Renjun screamed in his ear, effectively snapping him out of his daydream.

"What were you thinking of so deeply?" Jisung asked.

"Bet he was thinking of Mark's ass he was about to eat the other day"

"What?" Chenle asked timidly.

"Shut up nana, you and I both know that's not true"

"So what were you thinking of?" Renjun asked as he sat back down on Jaemin like the little shit he was.

"Nothing" haechan put his head down trying to cover his embarrassment.

"Ohhhh, Haechans got a secret"

"Im this close to cutting you Jaemin, and I mean it"

"Just tell us already" Renjun sighed frustratedly.

"Ok, so I might have a teeny tiny miniscule never heard of before, once in a blue mood-"

"Cut to the chase I ain't got all day" Renjun said exasperatedly.

"I think I might have a little crush on Mark, just a little, I swear!"

"Pay up bitches!" Renjun shouted as Jisung, Jaemin and Chenle groaned as they all gave Renjun 50,000 won each. 

"You all bet on me?!"

"And?" Renjun replied.

"I'm your best friend how could you do that to me!"

"I'm failing to see your point"

Haechan groaned, "how are none of you surprised by my confession"

"We been knew" Jaemin replied as he tried to kiss his way out of the bet (though Renjun was having none of it). "We just bet on how soon you were going to realize"

"Yeah, Jaemin hyung is right. We've all seen how you behave. You've become so close to my brother already, though I'm happy, I might get a niece or nephew soon" Jisung squealed happily.

"And that's it, Jisung you're cancelled, Chenle is my new favorite" Haechan said as he hugged Chenle.

"Ohh let's make a new bet, how long will it take for Mark to realize he's smitten for Haechan?" Renjun suggested fanning himself with his wad of cash.

"Ha, nice try with that one, he doesn't like me like one one bit. It took awhile for us to be civil with each other, I'm probably just shocked by how well we've gotten along that I've associated that with a crush"

"Awwn, our baby pudu thinks so low of himself, honestly, I'm very sure Mark liked you from the very beginning" Jaemin commented.

"Yeah, hyung doesn't warm up that easily to anyone, he still hasn't warm up to Chenle, and look at him" Jisung squished Chenle's cheek, "Not many can be immune to that, but he warmed up to you so quickly"

Haechan sighed, "thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I know what I'm talking about, lets just forgot this ok?"

"Fine, let's talk about me now like all things should" Renjun said as he fluttered his lashes.

"The world doesn't revolve around you Renjun"

"And it sure doesn't around you either"

"Why am I friends with you again?" Haechan sighed.

"Because I'm always there"

Knowing the story behind that statement, Haechan smiled and sent Renjun some kisses.

"I love you"

"Can't say the same about you, but sure" Renjun playfully grimaced as he changed the topic.

"So…"

Haechan was very lucky with his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (NCT DREAM's comeback is a fucking bop and I still can't believe how deep Jisung's voice is now.)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She back and ready to thrive.
> 
> Stick with me here. Do you want shorter but more recent updates, or longer but slower updates? Cause I usually write about 1000 words in advance after posting a chapter, but I leave the rest of the chapter unwritten cause I feel like I have time and I end up not posting for like a month. So if you are still interested comment below what you want.
> 
>    
> also is this getting boring?  
> Not beta read so I'm sorry.

The queen dowager was still really concerned about how the crowned couple's relationship was growing. She had no problem believing that they were going to end up loving each other as almost all royal couples start out with an arranged marriage, her's included.

But the pace at which they should love each other is crucial in their situation as the king wants to retire as soon as possible to regain his health.

She came to the conclusion that the traditional consummation should be brought forth as they couldn't waste any time in improving their relationship.

However, the queen quickly brought down the idea, claiming that Haechan is still underaged and it will bring a bad look on Mark's name.

 

~~~~

 

Haechan sighed for the nth time on Marks bed. He was currently watching Mark finish some science project and was bored to death. 

He had developed the habit of coming into Mark's room to bother him. After sharing a bed with Mark so many times, he had gotten used to being in close proximity to him.

He moved to the edge of the bed and turned his upside down so his head was hanging off the bed.

"You look funny this way" Haechan giggled. 

"Don't you have something else to be doing your highness?" Mark asked trying to ward off his distraction so he could finish the stupid project.

"Nope, why do you think I'm bothering you?" Heachan sighed once more when Mark continued to focus on his project. "I'm so tired of this place. Nothing interesting ever happens"

"Well I'm sorry living royal is not up to your standards"

"I wish I could sleep over at the Yoon's again. I haven't spoken to jisoo in like a month now" 

"Why don't you ask the elders then"

Heachan perked up from the bed, suddenly ten times more interested in the conversation.

"Do you think they will say yes?"

"Probably...not to be honest"

"You're such a party pooper"

Mark after being totally distracted from his work turned to face Haechan. "I could ask for you"

"Really?" Haechan stood up from the bed and joined Mark at his desk.

"Yeah, although they'll probably not let you go alone"

"Ugh, does Yuta have to follow me" anytime Haechan does anything outside of the palace Yuta is always assigned to accompany him.

"Not what I meant… I was... saying... that-"

"Mark Lee are you trying to make me invite you along?"

"Not my intention, but to be honest they won't let you go out alone if I wasn't there"

"Sure Mark, if it comes down to it, you can come along"

And if Haechan saw the little lift in Mark's lips he either pretended not to or ignored it.

"Still not my intention"

"Sure, not your intention. Let's do something though"

"Like what?" Seeing the growing smile on Haechan's lips, Mark's eyes widened.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Please no"

"Barbie Marathon part 2!"

"I hate you"

"Go bring the popcorn your majesty, and please don't fall this time"

Haechan grinned widely as Mark walked out the room. "He's so cute"

 

~~~~

 

Haechan was feeling over the moon when Mark told him the elders said yes. Mark told him the queen dowager was the most eager for them to go together, which increased Haechan's love for the queen dowager.

They had just arrived at the Yoon's and Jisoo was the person who greeted them.

"Jisoo!" Haechan screamed as he dropped his bag on Mark ("oof") and ran towards Jisoo to engulf him in a hug.

"I've missed you so much" he had started getting teary eyed. 

"I've missed you too darling" Jisoo then let him go to pay attention to the other guest. 

"Hi, you must be Mark"

"And you Jisoo"

Jisoo gave him an awkward side hug and then led them into the house.

"I thought you said you were close with Jeonghan, you've never met Jisoo?" Haechan whispered to Mark as he collected his bag from him.

"I am close to Jeonghan, just have never met his husband"

Haechan snorted at Mark, "you're such a dork"

"Jeonghan went to visit his friend who had just given birth, he should be here anytime now. In the meantime let me show you guys your room" Jisoo announced as he led them to the hallway by the left of the kitchen.

The room wasn't anything too fancy, there was a queen sized bed right in the middle with a huge brown wardrobe on the left. A typical guest room.

"The bathroom is just opposite this room, let me leave you guys to change and get comfortable, I'll be in the kitchen preparing dinner if you need me" Jisoo said as he left them to their own vices.

"I claim the left side!" Haechan announced as he flinged his whole body on the bed. When he heard nothing he sat up and looked confusedly at Mark.

"What are you doing?"

"It's my first time sleeping in someone else's house, it's kinda weird" Mark said and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm also not as close to Jeonghan as you are"

"Oh come on, you've got me here, there's nothing to be nervous about. Besides, the Yoon's are like the most kindest people I've ever met and they are like my parents, you'll be fine"

"Yeah...ok fine" Mark dropped his bag on the bed and opened it to remove his spear clothes to change into. He started unbuttoning his shirt when Haechan stood up quick to stop him.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?!"

"...changing? You should too"

"Can't you do it in the bathroom, or at least tell me to leave the room?!"

Mark held Haechan's hands that were still on his shirt and pulled him closer with a smirk. "Are you still shy around me dear husband? You're gonna see it all one day you know?"

Haechan pushed mark away as quick as he could and left the room without a word.

He ran out to the kitchen where he saw Jisoo cutting tomatoes.

"Why do you look so flushed?"

"Nothing" Haechan muttered, looking down when he felt himself get red from remembering the events that took place just a minute ago.

"You sure?" Jisoo raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"Yeah, it's um…" he cleared his throat, "nothing, you need help with anything?"

"Not really, you can just set up the table, im almost done" Haechan nodded and went to the dining room. 

As he was setting down the plates he felt a presence behind him, as he was about to check who it was, he felt two arms wrap around his waist.

"Mar- Mark! What are you doing!?" He tried prying himself off of Mark, but Mark didn't budge.

"You're getting so brave, you know that right?" Haechan scoffed as he gave up on freeing himself.

"I just want to know how you feel, you know?" Mark said as he stopped hogging Haechan to himself, and helped him set the table.

"No, in fact I don't know. And what do you mean by how I feel?"

Mark just shrugged, "go change I'll finish this for you" he grabbed the remaining cutleries from Haechan and shooed him off.

"Stupid boys and their cryptic language" Haechan muttered as he went to change.

~~~~

Jeonghan came right in time for dinner and was disgustingly cute with Jisoo. They told the royal couple that they had a doctors appointment the next day so they had time to be teenagers without any worry or supervision for a few hours.

"Don't do anything on my couch!" Jeonghan exclaimed making both Haechan and Mark to redden.

"Don't scar the children fool" Jisoo reprimanded.

~~~~

After Mark and Haechan had spent some time with Jeonghan and Jisoo watching a random drama on tv, they were ready to retire to bed.

"What do you wanna do tomorrow?" Mark asked as he lied on the bed.

"Ion really know, it's such a different world outside the palace you know, and I've gotten quite used to it. I just came for the jihan content. what do you wanna do?" Haechan said as he plopped on the bed beside Mark.

"Let's go out, we've never even been on a date and we've been married for a month now"

"Where to?"

"Like a movie or something, doesn't have to be fancy"

"Mark Lee are you asking me out on a date?"

Mark blushed as he cleared his throat, "what if I am?"

"Nothing, nothing just wondering" Haechan said with a cheeky smile on. "What are we seeing?"

"We can figure it out when we get there"

"Okey dokey, good night markie pooh"

"Night hyuck-ah"

Haechan blushed again at Mark using his birth name. He didn't like it because his parents gave him that name, but surprisingly he didn't feel like strangling Mark.

~~~~

Haechan felt like he was in a James Bond movie. With the extravagant mask and hat Yuta made them wear, he wasn't far off.

"Why can't we be normal again?"

"'Cause it's too risky, people can't find out your identity"

"Ugh fine"

Haechan and Mark were dropped off at the theatre and they still couldn't decide on what to watch.

"This is why I asked yesterday, so we could avoid all this"

"I've never done this 'date' thing before, how would I know?"

Mark mentioning date so freely got Haechan flustered.

"Whatever let's just go eat lunch or something"

And so the date plans were changed and they ate lunch instead.

"But we can't just 'eat', we eat together all the time"

"What do you wanna do then, hyuck?"

"Let's go shopping!"

And so they shopped till Mark was sure Yuta was gonna be disappointed. Haechan changed his phone, exchanging his old one for it and got a haircut. He dyed his hair silver for a change.

"So, what do you think?"

"You look good" mark couldn't take his eyes off hyuck. The contrast between his tan skin and his hair looked so good, he was mildly intimidated. "Like really good"

Haechan blushed for the nth time that day.

"Thanks Mark… your turn!"

And so the struggle to get Mark into the chair proceeded. But what Haechan wants, Haechan gets.

Mark dyed his hair blonde and Haechan couldn't take his eyes off. "Wow, you clean up nice"

Mark rolled his eyes as his phone rang.

"What happened to your disguise?!!" Yuta screamed into the phone.

Opps, they had taken it off walking into the salon.

"Oh shit" Mark looked around to see if there was a crowd forming and thankfully there was none.

"It's looking good here, no need to worry"

Yuta cut the phone as he yelled, "Tell that to the trending page on the internet!"

And so the young couple checked their phones to see the various pictures of their interactions throughout the day.

"Dann we look good together"

"Yeah, and probably die together once my mother sees this" Mark paid and tipped the hairdresser, who was entirely civil even though she recognized them.

"Lets go, Yuta's outside"

~~~~

"That was fun! Let's do that again!"

"Yeah, if we survive"

"Don't be such a downer Mark. Live in the moment"

Haechan and mark were back at the Yoon's for the night and were preparing to sleep.

They had 2 days and a night left, so they had planned a full day with the Yoon's tomorrow.

Haechan sat on the bed, totally not watching Mark change as mark refused to do so in the bathroom.

He didn't move when Mark caught him staring, nor did he stop looking at mark. He did start getting flustered when Mark started right back.

Just as he was about to stop looking Mark in the eye and clear the growing tension in the air. He felt his back on the bed and a Mark on top of him.

"What are you-"

And he did it.

Mark kissed him! Again!

**Author's Note:**

> Like and subscribe for more mediocre content👍 and don't forget to leave a comment if you liked it or not, I like constrictive comments as well as thrive off of it!


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